OPEC oil price stays in $40 range

Vienna, Jan 23 (DPA) The price for oil produced by the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) inched up by $0.77 Thursday but stayed in the $40 range, as analysts said Friday that output cuts were leading to a more balanced market.One barrel (159 litres) of OPEC-produced crude stood at $40.31 Thursday, the Vienna-based cartel announced Friday. OPEC’s basket price of 12 crude brands has remained in a range of around $39-42 since Jan 8.

The price situation was related to the cartel’s decisions to slash output by a total of 4.2 million barrels per day since last September in reaction to lower demand, said Carsten Fritsch, a commodity analyst at Commerzbank in Frankfurt.

“There are indications that the cuts decided in December are being implemented,” in addition to the lower production rates agreed to earlier in the autumn, Fritsch said.

Besides the effect on the supply side, markets were waiting for signals from the new administration in the US that could affect demand, such as the announced economic stimulus package, said Ehsan ul-Haq, chief analyst at JBC Energy in Vienna.

“As long as there are no clear signals, it will be difficult for the price to move,” he said.